Coupon folding machine



Feb. 23, 1932. s. R. SCHNEIDER ET AL 1,345,764

COUPON FOLDING MACHINE Filed Oct. 22, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 WAFTW 2- B R. SCHNEIDER ET AL 1,846,764

COUPON FOLDING MACHINE Filed Oct. 22, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q04 By #434 #44527 Feb. 23, 1932. B. R. SCHNEIDER ET AL COUPON FOLDING MACHINE Filed Oct. 22, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 A T NE YS.

Feb. 23, 1932-. B R. SCHNEIDER ET AL COUPON FOLDING MACHINE Filed Oct. 22. 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 COUPON FOLDING MACHINE s Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Oct. 22, 1929 K4495? W AT RNEYS.

Patented Feb. 23, 1932.

' ITED STATES;

"OF I E I 2 BERNARD R. SCHNEIDER, or LYNDH-tmsrr, NEW JERSEY, AND mm. KAISER, on NEW ironic; N. Y., AssIGNons' TO AMERICAN GIGAB COMSEANY, or Nnwyoax, N. 'Y., A

y lding bladeqp Another object is to providemeans'in con-.

CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY oouron FOLDING MACHINE Application'fi-led October 22, 1929.1. ser al No'. 401,542.

This invention is ,anim'provement in conpon folding machlnes, and more particular- 1y ina machine for folding the c( )11pons-to -bev fed by the couponffeeding machine forming the subject matter of application Serial'No; 409,868, filed. on. Nov.. -26, 1929, by Bernard R. Schneider andKarl Kaiser.

Iii the coupon feeding machine abovefre-l ferred to, folded coupons or like, are po sitioned in cigar banding machlnes, at the spot npon which the operator places a cigar to be banded, thus. enabling the applied band to enclose hoth the folded coupon and. the

cigar.

Articles of this nature whether couponsor advertisingmatter, are usually folded twice lengthwise, being fed in ,successlo-n from bottom ofthe pile of superposed coupons.

nisni forwithdrawing the'lowermjost of a pile of'coupons, and for. depositing 1t upona pan of. folding rollers, in posltion to be engaged nection with such mechanism for positively separating the lowermost coupon 1n the'magazine from those above, and for positlvely withdrawing it from beneath the pile.

Another object is the provision offolding 7 blades, and cooperating foldlng i rollers, so;

arranged that a double fold will be imparted to the coupon as it travels past the rollers,

the' second mechanism being cairrangedfto change the dlrectlon of travel of the coupon as it is folded.

Another object is theprovision ofmechanism for receiving the folded coupon from the last'fol'ding mechanism, and for" positively" delivering it toa receiving magazlne.

Another object is theprovlsion lnjconnection with a pneumatic feeder for deliver ng the coupon from the last folding mechanism to the-magazine ofnieansfor'positlvely sepv arating the coupon from the pneumatic feed,-

er and positioningit in the magazine; I

Vith these and other objects inviewthe in-' vent-ion consists in theconstruction and novel combination of parts fullydescribedherein after,1llustrated in'the accompanylng drawtion.

In the drawings forming apart hereofzi f' 1 is a front View offthe improved'ma- I chine.

FigiQ isa top plan view with'parts in' see Fig.3 is an Fig. 2.

Fig.4 is an enlarged detail in .l'ongitudiend view" looking atthe left nal section of one endofthemachine.

Fig. v 5 is a similar view of the other end. Fig.6 is a detail in side View; :7 Fig. 7 '1 s a perspective view of the coupon in unfolded, partly folded,' and completely folded condition. v I 5 1 In the present Ze'mbo diinentof the invention the improved machine comprises a suitable frame 1, ha ving; a;- "p'air of posts 2' arising therefrom; the posts being in aline longitudi- .nal ofthe'frame. Supported bytheposts is a magazine, "consisting of angular corner;

pieces 3 and 3a. 'St'raps lare' arranged at the sides of themagazine, between thecorner '1 pieces, and the coupons indicated at 5 are arranged the magazine being supported. at one end by lip's6 on the corner pieoes' a,

andat the other by a cross rod 7 connecting the corner pieces .3. A. bracket 8 supports the corner pieces 3 3a, and the straps the bracket having bearings forlr eceivingtheposts.-2. I

A pneumatic device is provided for-pulling,

down the left end of .thelowermost coupon,

as shown in Fig. 4. This devicepcomprises a sucker head 9, extending transversely of the bottom of the magazine near thei-corner "pieces 3a,: and the sucker'h'ea-d has a longitudinally' extending opening 10, from which lateral openingsfll lead to the top oflthe. head, the openings being reamed at the top as shown in Fig.4 The head is apart of k ahracket 12, having bearings whichareslidable on the posts 2, and'the bore10 is'con-; 'nected by a flexible hose 13 and aL-"pipe 14? with a suitable exhaust mechanism, for creating a'partial vacuum in the openings 11.

The bracket is reciprocated vertically through an eccentric cam groove 15a in the face of a gear wheel 15, to be later described, the bracket. having a friction roller 16 moving in the groove. It will be apparent that when the gear wheel rotates, the bracket 12- willbereciprocated, and with it' the bar or, head w rd and fr e magaz ne, The.

gear wheel, has a stub shaft rotating in a bearing 17 on the frame 1, and it is drivenby a gear wheel 18 on a shaft 19 journaled transversely of the frame, and connected with a suitable source of power by a belt- 20a engaging a pulley 20 on the extended end of the shaft.

,When the sucker head moves downwardly,

the left end of the lowermost coupon is pulled downwardly, as shown in Fig. '4, and in order to insure the grip of thesucker head on the coupon, andthe positive feeding there of,fa clamping lip of plate 21 is'provided for engaging the, coupon on the head, as it is being drawn into position on the folding'rolls to be described.

link, a four 'feedmovement is imparted-to the-lip. .It is first movedintothe position of Fig.4, then-downwar dlywith the sucker head,'to theleft from-its position inFi'g. 4,

thence upwardly again to the. right, Thus :the lip is brought down uponthefcoupon on the 'suckerhead, and moved .with the. sucker head, until the coupon .islaid upon the folding rolls to bedescribed. The movement of the lip is synchronized with the movement of the sucker head.

The U- shaped memberj24 and-the: ring 26 are oscillated by means of cams 28 'and 29,

respectively, mounted on: a shaft 30, which.

is' journaled in the frame to the right and above the shaft 25. The cams engage fric-, tion rollers 31 and 32, respectively, on the member and the crank arm, andthe parts are held in close engagement with the'cams,,by means of a spring 33, arranged between the crank arm'27and an arm 34 in connection with i a shaft 35'. described.

These parts will be'later The shaft 30 is driven from thestub shaft of the gear wheel 15, through intermeshing minions 36, 37" and'38, the formerqbeing on the hub of the wheel 15, the latter on the shaft 30, jand the gear37 being an idler between the" other two. A pair of folding rollers 39,

40 is arranged in the frame below the magazine. These rollers are secured on shafts 41,

42, the former being journaled in the frame, and the latter in bearing blocks 43, which are adjusted in guides 44 in the frame toward and from the shaft 41. The adjustment is by means of handle screws 45, mounted longitudinally ofthe frame-at opposite sides of the magazine, and rotatably connected with the blocks. The screws have threaded connection with the frame, and it will be apparentthat by-turning them in op posite directions, the bearingblocks may be moved toward and from the shaft 41, whereby .to properly position the rollers 39 and 40.

A folding blade 46 cooperates with the roll- -'ers"39' 4O, the-said blade being mounted on an arm 47 secured to a shaft 48 journaled transversely of the frame. The shaft 48 is provided with a-pinion 49 outside the frame,

and thelpinion' meshes with a rack bar 50,

mounted to' reciprocate in guides 51 near the ends of the frame. j i

After leaving the folding rollers 3940,

which as shown in Fig. 5, are placed'relatively close together,- so that the fold'is compressed, the coupon is fed downward between a pair of rollers 5253, journaled 'in 'the frame below the rollers 3940. The rollers 52- 2-53 as'show'n, are spaced slightly further apart than the rollers 3940, so that the folded coupon is received between them somewhat loosely, there being justsuflicient grip of the rollers to hold the H coupon firmly down against a stop 57 supported bythe frame be-. 7

low the pairs of folding rollers 3940 and 52553, and inftlre' plane of the contacting surfaces 'of the members of the pairs.

Affolding roller 58 cooperates with th roller52,-the, roller 58 being journaled just below the roller 52, and with its peripheryv contacting with the periphery of the roller 52 A blade 54 presses the once folded coupon between the cooperating rollers 5258,'f to provide for the second fold. It

i will be noticed'that the stop 57 is spaced so thereon,.the central portion of the coupon that whenthe first fold of the coupon rests will be in line with the line of contact between rollers 5258. The blade is secured to theupper end of an'arm 55 secured to a shaft 5.6. This shaft is oscillated from the shaft 35 before mentioned.

Theshaft 56 has a crank arm 59, connected by a link '60 with an elbow lever 61 upon the shaft 35. The arm 34 previously mentioned,

is loose on the shaft 35, but is constrained to move therewith, and with the elbow lever, by the mechanism shown in Fig. 4. This mechanism comprises setscrews 62, which are ithreadedt-hrough lugs 63 on the elbow lever 61, at: opposite sides of the arm 34, and the relative positionfof arm and elbow lever may be vvarie by means of the set screws.

Thelsha ft 35 is oscillatedvby means of a,

cam- 64 onthe shaft 30" before mentioned.

Thiscam engages a roller 65 on the arm 34,;

and the cam is substantially heart shaped, as shown By means of the cam, the folding blade 54 is caused to push. the. once-folded coupon between the rollers 52 and 58,,to pro: vide for a second fold, and the completely folded coupon is delivered by a feed arm .66 to areceiving magazine indicated generally at67a. I.

The feed arm carries a suckerhead 67 having a series of openings in the face thereof, which connect'by passages 68, with a central bore 69 in a shaft 7 0 journaled in the frame adjacentthe shaft 56. The bore 69' is con nected with the exhausting apparatus, and as the-twice folded coupon leaves the rollers 52 58, it is held to the suction head, the arm 66 being then in position of Fig; 4; The arm now moves to theposition of Fig. 5, where the sucker head is-in substantial alinement with the magazine. It will be noticed referring toFigsL. 4 and. 5' that the face-of the sucker head is cut away at the side adjacent the rollers 5258, to provide ashoulder 71 against which the second 'fold of the coupon abuts when theucoupon leaves the rollers The receiving magazine: as shown in Fig. 5, is trough shaped, and extends beyond the end of the frame, being supported by an angle bracket 75 on the frame. Theshaft 7 0 is oscillated by means of arack bar 76 slidable in guides 77 on the frame, the rack bar eni 89 one of the portions-of whichis seoured 'to gaging a pinion 78 on the shaft; "The rack bar meshes with the teeth of a sector arm 79 loose on a shaft 80 journaled in-the frame.

An elbow lever 81 is secured to the shaft,

one of the arms thereof extending alongside the sector arm, and having lugs and set screws 82 similar to the set screws and lugs 62. 68 previously described, for enabling therelative position of the elbow lever arm and the sector arm to be varied. Aspring 83 is arranged between the sector arm and. a bracket 84 on the frame, thespring acting normallyv to draw the sector arm and the elbow lever to the right of Fig. 1. r f

The other arm of the elbow lever hasa friction roller bearingagainst acam 85 on a shaft'86 journaled inthe f'rame, anddriven from the gear 36 through an idler 87 jour naled. onthe frame, and a gear 88 secu'redto the shaft. When the elbow lever is rocked, the sector moves the rack bar, which in turn oscillates the shaft 70, andswings the delivery feed arm from the position of Fig. at to that of-Flg. 5. The spring 83 holds the rollerof the elbowlever against theedge of the cam. I Mechanlsm 1s provlded for positively (l1$' engaging the coupon from the feeder head 67 1nd moving it into the magazine. This y a toothed sector'120, mounted .loosely'on a,

mechanism is in the form of an angle plate an arm 90 supported in a manner to be presently described. The other portion-of the plate is adaptedto engage the folded coupons:

in themagaaine'. A follower 91 is arranged in the magazine to the right: ofQthe; folded coupons, and as they are fed into the magazine,the follower ismovedl toward the right of Fig. 5. The plate 89.hasxa .reciprocatory' and lateralmotion. Thatis it is firstlifted, then moved to the left and downwardly-bebind the coupon held by the head 67. It is then moved to the right,.topress the received coupon against those already in'the'magazine.

This four feed motion. is brought about by the mechanism shown at the extreme right ofFig; 5. A link 92 connectsthe arm 90.with

a lever 98, which is secured to a* shaft 94v jour:

friction roller 98 engaging the-edge of an other cam 99'-on thesame shaft An adjustable link. in the form: of a turn buckle 100'con nects the-outer ends of the lever 93' andthee/ arm 90. v

As the shaft 86-rotates from the position of Fig. 5, the lever 93 will first be rocked to lower the outer end of the arm- 90, and lift'the angle plate 89. The link.92 will then swing inward, the roller 98 engaging the lower part:

of the cam: 99, and the angle plate 89-, still lifted, will be moved tothe left ofjFig... 5..

The lever 93 will then be rocked. to raisegthe V outer end'of the arm 90" and lower the plate 89, which, at this time will be behind the folded coupon on the feedingihead 67. The" arm 90 will then be moved toward the right into the magazine, againstrthe follower, or againstthefolded coupons alreadyin the magazine.

The shaft 19 before mentioned, is provided".

with fa sprocket wheel, 101-Ioutside of the frame, and achain 102 connects the wheelwith a wheel 103 onash'aftlO l journaled to the right of the rollers-3952. The shaft has tively,.s0 that the shaft 104-drives therollers 39--52. I This provides for the feeding of of Fig. 5, p0sitively removing th'efifold-ed.@

coupon from the feeding head and moving it lit a pinion 105, which meshes with other pinions 106107 onthe shafts 52-58,- respeo, 5

the coupon through the folding rollers; The lower run of the chain 102 is engaged by a tension wheel 110 01113.11 arm 111 adjustable angularly of a shaft 112 held-in the frame.

The arm 111 is heldin adjusted position by a set screw 113, passing through the arm and engaging the shaft. r

The rack bar 50 is reciprocated by means of shaft 121, andqoperatedt by an elbow lever 122,. secured to theshaft'. One of the: arms.

of the elbow lever extends alongside the sector arm,.and isprovided with lugs and screws guides. The wedges 130 are operated by screw mentioned. This shaft also carries the 123 and 124, corresponding to the lugsand screws 6362, andfor the same purpose, that is, for varyingtherelative position of the sector arm andthe elbow lever. The other arm of the elbowlever is provided with-a naled in bearing blocks 127, which are movwith respect to the roller 52.

able vertically in guides 128- in the frame.

At the lower ends'of the bearings arewedges or inclined cams 129, with which cooperate wedges 130 movable transversely of the rods 131 journaled' longitudinally of the frame. WVhen the rods are'turned, the wedges 130 will be moved laterally to raise or lower the roller 58, that is, to adjust thesaid roller Any-suitable exhausting'apparatus is provided for creating a vacuum in the openings of the pneumatic feeders 9 and 67. I Avalve isprovided for each feeder, ea;ch comprising a casing 140,-and a valve 141 movable in-the casing, the casings being secured to the frame as'shown. A rocker 142 is pivoted to'the frame intermediate its ends at each casing, the pivotal connection being indicated at 143, and each rocker has rollers 144 at its ends. One ofthese rollers bears on the top of the valve, andthe other upon the edge" of a cam -145146. The earn 145 iison the shaft 86, '19,; '2 the casings, namely: thatadjacen't the cam while the cam 146 is onthe shaft 30. One of 145, is connected by a hose 147 withthe pneu matic feeder 67 that is, with the bore '69 of T the shaft 7 O." The other casing, that adjacent the cam 146, is connected by the pipe 14 be fore mentioned, with the pneumatic feeder 9.

A pipe 150 connects the two casings.

V Each valve has an' annular port 151'nearits lower end, and thepipes 150 and 14', or 150 and 147, are arranged opposite each other at the respective casings, as clearly shown 1n Fig. 6." When the valve is moved downward,

the port 151 connects the exhausting appara tus withjthe' pipe 14 or 147, as disease may be. It will be apparentthat when the exhausting apparatus is connected with the pipe, there will be a partial'vacuum created at the openings of the corresponding feeder,

' suflicient to hold the coupon'in contact with the feeder. V n

The operation of the machine as a whole is as follows. A suitablesupply'of coupons being placed in'the magazine, and the Inachine started, the pneumaticfeeder 9 moves upward, and engages the end of the lowermost coupon, after which-it moves'downward, pullingthe said end free from the adjacent-end of the magazine. At this moment the blade 21 is movedin upon the coupon clamping the end of the same between the lade'andthe feeder, and the blade continues to move downward with the feeder, until the coupon is completely disengaged from the magazine. The feeder moves on down with "the blade, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 4, until the coupon lies upon the rollers 39 40, with its transverse central line just above the contacting surfaces of the rollers. At this moment the folding blade 46 swingsdownwardly, and I,

pushes the central portion of the coupon between the rollers,which feed the coupon downward, pressing the fold. The coupon drops down between the'rollers 52 and 53, which feedit down onto the stop '57, the folded edge of the coupon engaging the stop.

The rollers 52- 53 are 'spaced,'so that the folded-edge of the coupon is j ust held against the stop, but without any downward pressure,

thestop throughout its length. The central portion of the once folded coupon is now opposite thecontacting-surfacesof rollers 52 58 and the blade 54 pushes the once folded coupon betweenthe rollers 52-58, making the second fold; 'As it passes from between the rollers, the partial vacuum in the openings 68 carry the coupon with the arm 66,

which swings into the position-of Fig. 5.

At this moment the blade 89 engages between the coupon and thefeedinghead 67 anddraws it into the magazine, into the position shown in Fig. 5. Referring to Fig. 2, it will be noticedthat the blade 89 is forked, and the feeder head may have cutaway portions 160 through which the arms ofthe fork pass to get behind the coupon.

What is claimed as 'new'is "1. In a coupon folding machine, a magazine for superposed coupons, and feeding 'mechanism including means to depress one end of the lowermost coupon, and other means to clamp the said end to the first named means,a pair of coop'erating folding rolls arranged below the. magazine across whichthe feeding mechanism lays the coupon, and

' a tucker. for pushing the coupon between the rolls to fold. it into double shape.

2. In a coupon folding machine, a magazine for superposed coupons, feeding mechanism including a-sucker head for engaging and pulling downward one end of the lowermore than suflic'ient to insure" that it en a es D most coupon, and a-clamping'member for clamping the said end to the sucker head, a pair of cooperating folding rolls arranged below the magazine across which the feeding mechanism lays the coupons, and a tucker for pushing the couponbetween the rolls to fold it into double shape.

3. In a coupon foldmg machine, a maga-i zine-for superposed coupons, feeding 'mech pushing the coupon between the rolls to fold it intodouble shape, a second pair of fold.-: ing rolls arranged with their axes in a plane at right angles tothe first named pair, and

a tucker cooperatingwith the second pair for pushing the once folded coupon between said rolls.

4. In a coupon folding machine, amagazine for superposed coupons, feeding mechanism including a sucker head for engaging and pulling downward one end of the lowermost coupon, and a clamping member for clamping the said end to the sucker head, a pair of cooperating folding rolls arranged below the magazine across which the feeding mechanism lays the coupons, a tucker for pushing the coupons between the rolls to fold a it into doubled shape, a second pair of folding rolls arranged with their axes in a plane at right angles to the first named pair, a stop below the second named pair and in line with the cooperating surfaces of the first named pair against which the folded coupon abuts, a tucker for cooperating with the second pair of folding rolls, and another roll cooperat ing with the topmost of the second pair of rolls and spaced apart therefrom to loosely engage the folded'coupon to hold it against the stop. V

5. In a coupon folding machine, means to once fold the coupon along a central line, means to feed the coupon to the folding means, a second folding means, a stop below the first named means against which the once folded coupon abuts, and means cooperating with the second folding means to loosely engage the folded coupon to hold it against the stop. I V

6. In a coupon folding machine, means to fold a coupon,'a receiving magazine, mechanism to receive the folded coupon from said means and deliver it to the magazine, and means for positively removing the coupon from the delivering means and moving it into the magazine.

7. In a coupon folding machine, means to folda coupon, a receiving magazine, mechanism to receive the folded coupon from said means and deliver it to the magazine, and means for positively removing the coupon from the delivering means and moving it into the magazine, the receiving mechanism including a sucker head, the last named means including a fork, the arms of which pass between the folded coupon and the sucker head.

8. In a coupon folding machine, means to fold a coupon, a receiving magazine, a sucker head for receivingthe folded coupon and moving it toward the magazine, and means for stripping the coupon from the sucker head and moving it into the magazine.

9. In a coupon folding machine, amagazine, .folding rolls having their axes in a plane perpendicular to that of the magazine, a tucker'for moving a coupon between the rolls, mechanism toreceive the coupon from the rolls and deliver it to the magazine, said mechanismincluding a sucker head mounted to swing through an angle of substantially 90, whereby to carry the coupon from the folding rolls to the magazine, and a fork ineluding .a body and arms extending at an angle to the body, and means for imparting a four feed motion to the arm to insert the fork arms between the sucker head and the coupon to strip it therefrom, and to draw it into the magazine. i 10. In a. coupon feeding machine, a magazine for the coupons to be folded in which the coupons are arranged in superposed relation, a pair of folding rolls, and mechanism to remove the lowermost coupon from the mag azine and lay it on the folding rolls, said mechanism including a sucker head for drawing down an end of the lowermost coupon, and a clamping lip engaging said end to clamp it on the head. 1

11. In a coupon feeding machine, a magazine for the coupons to be folded in which the coupons are arranged in superposed relation,

azine and lay it on the folding rolls, said mechanism including a sucker head for' drawing down an end of the lowermost coupon, and a clamping lip engaging said end to clamp it on the head, and means for imparting a four feedmotion to the lip to cause it to move between the end of the lowermost coupon and the superposed coupons, and to move downwardly with the sucker head.

.12. Ina coupon folding machine, a plurality of folding means, each including a pair of rolls and a tucker, a stop for positioning'the once folded coupon with respect to the second pair of rolls, and means cooperating with one of said second pair to hold the coupon against the stop.

13. Ina-coupon folding machine, a plurality'of folding means, each including a pair ofrolls and a tucker, a, stop for positioning the once folded coupon with respect to the 

